Meghalaya drummers clinched the world record for the largest drum ensemble with a performance here by group of 7,951 drummers.
SHILLONG: Meghalaya on Saturday clinched the world record for the largest drum ensemble with a performance here by group of 7,951 drummers.
After a few rounds of rehearsals and the final performance by the ensemble comprising mostly school students, Guinness Book of World Records adjudicator Michael Whitty announced in the Jawaharlal Nehru sports complex here that this was the world's largest drum ensemble.
The group surpassed the achievement of 7,725 drummers assembled in Hong Kong in February 2005 by Po Leung Kuk, a charity helping orphaned children.
“Your drumming was fantastic for the whole of five minutes," said Whitty, who flew in from Britain for the event, after counting the ribbons given to the participants.
The drummers performed "Positive Vibration", a tune composed by local musician Rudy Wallang, for five minutes, a criterion for achieving the record.
Besides the school children, personnel from Assam Regimental Centres and Gorkha Training Centre and traditional drummers joined the performance.
The event kicked off the Autumn Festival and was aimed at attracting tourists from across the globe to this scenic mountain state. The event was jointly organised by the Meghalaya Government and the NGO Meghalaya Tourism Development Centre.
Shillong wore a carnival-like look today as drum beats reverberated across the town. Street artistes from New Zealand, who walked around on stilts, also joined the festivities.
Soon after the new record was set, air force helicopters showered flower petals on the drummers and five para-troopers landed at the sports complex.
Former chief minister D D Lapang, Tourism Minister R G Lyngdoh and other ministers were present on the occasion. The Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern
Command, Air Marshal F H Major, and senior army officials were also present.
Lapang said the event would boost tourism in Meghalaya.
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